Our benefits
You can also see our full list of employee benefits on our careers site here: Why you should work for us | West Northamptonshire Council.
About the role
At West Northants Council, it’s about our people and the difference they make. This is an exciting time to join our growing Legal Services team as a Senior Lawyer (Adult Social Care), where your expertise will directly support some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and help shape the delivery of essential Adult Social Care services.
Working within our Law and Governance service, you'll provide specialist legal advice and representation across a broad range of Adult Social Care matters, supporting the Council to meet its statutory responsibilities while safeguarding the rights, wellbeing and independence of adults who need care and support. You'll be joining one of England's newest and largest unitary councils, offering the opportunity to work on complex and meaningful cases within a modern, ambitious and forward-thinking legal service.
Whether you're already working in local government, looking to move from private practice or seeking a fresh challenge in a rewarding area of law, this role offers the chance to develop your career while making a genuine difference to people's lives every day.
What will you be doing?
You’ll manage a varied caseload of Adult Social Care matters, providing expert legal advice to client departments and supporting officers across the Council on complex and often sensitive issues. Your work will include advising on the Care Act 2014, Court of Protection proceedings, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, ordinary residence matters, judicial reviews, complaints and issues relating to immigration, asylum and No Recourse to Public Funds.
You’ll represent the Council in court and at case-related meetings, provide guidance on funding and care arrangements, and support key projects that help shape service delivery. As a senior member of the team, you’ll contribute to developing colleagues through mentoring, training and sharing knowledge, helping to build an efficient, customer-focused legal service.
It’s an exciting time to join our legal team as we continue to develop and strengthen our services. To find out more about working in our Legal teams, please visit: https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/spotlight-our-key-services-careers-and-our-partners/working-our-legal-teams
About you
You’re a qualified Solicitor, with experience in Adult Social Care law and a passion for delivering excellent legal services. You’re confident managing complex cases, undertaking advocacy and providing clear, practical advice that supports positive outcomes for vulnerable adults and the services that support them.
You bring excellent communication skills, sound legal judgement and the ability to build strong relationships with colleagues, clients and partner organisations. You’re comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, handling sensitive matters with professionalism and integrity, and you enjoy contributing to the development of others and the continuous improvement of legal services.
West Northants is a great place to build your career. With a focus on professional development, wellbeing, mentoring and support, we are committed to helping our people thrive. Above all, you’ll share our THRIVE values and our ambition to deliver high-quality legal services that make a meaningful difference to our communities.
About us
At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.
Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.
We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner
The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.
If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email [email protected] for support.
Please note we reserve the right to close the advert early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications, so we recommend applying as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
West Northants Council, where careers thrive.
